Flexible drinking straw



March 13, 1962 H. L. LEVI 3,025,004

FLEXIBLE DRINKING STRAW Filed Dec. 2, 1960 INVENTORI HANS L. LEW

BY htm? rrop/vey United States Patent 3,025,004 FLEXIBLE DRHNKTNG STRAW Hans L. Levi, Kipp St, Chappaqua, N31. Filed Dec. 2, 1960, Ser. No. 73,405 1 Claim. (Cl. 239-33) My invention relates to a flexible drinking straw and the method for manufacturing it.

Drinking straws with a flexible span are known and widely used. Their advantage over ordinary stiff straws lies in the fact that they can be bent in use without kinking or breaking or otherwise cutting olf the flow of liquid. They have found a wide market. For example, flavored drinking straws frequently include a flexible span. The major market limitation on the presently manufactured flexible straws is their price. They cost considerably more to make than straight straws because of the slow and cumbersome technique necessary to corrugate the flexible span where the span is integral with the rest of the straw.

My invention permits a great increase in the speed of manufacture, materially reducing the cost and thus greatly increasing the market potential for flexible straws.

An object of the invention is to provide a flexible straw which can be manufactured more cheaply than flexible straws known to the prior art.

Another object of the invention is to provide a flexible straw construction which can be mass produced at speeds much greater than heretofore possible.

Another object of the invention is to provide a flexible straw construction which is adaptable for manufacture by a single automatic machine.

Briefly, the invention is a drinking straw made of three tubular segments connected end to end. The drinking segment and the segment that is dipped into the food or liquid may be made of any drinking straw material but are preferably smooth, relatively stiff, tubes of paperwound construction. The intermediate segment is flexible, accordion-like, corrugated banderole the ends of which are fitted over and glued to an end of each of the stifl tube segments. The three-piece glued straw is then waxed to protect the glue seal as well as the paper from the effects of moisture.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent in the following description and claim, and in the drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the completed flexible straw.

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal cross-section of the straw shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a schematic illustration of the formation of the corrugated strip used in manufacture of the flexible segments.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings, the completed straw is referred to generally by reference numeral 10 in FIGURE 1. It is composed of three, fitted, coaxial tubular segments 11, 12 and 13. Segments 1i and 13 are preferably of the same material which may -be any conventional drinking straw material but is usually of paper-wound construction. Segment 12 is a corrugated band which is wound or fitted around the ice outside ends of segments 11 and 13 and is held to segments 11 and 13 by an appropriate glue. The straw is most usable if the drinking end segment 13 is between 1 /2 and 2 inches long.

FIGURE 3 illustrates that a continuous corrugated strip 14 is made by rolling a flat strip of material 15 between two dies 16 and 17. The material used is preferably the same as the rest of the straw. The corrugated flexible band 12 is made from the thin corrugated strip 14.

The preferable mode of construction of the invention is to glue the flexible segment 12 onto the stiff segments 11 and 13 before waxing the straw; then wax the entire straw by means known to the art. The waxing after gluing will protect the glued joints from the effects of moisture.

The method of manufacture is one that permits mass production and automatic assembly. The method is particularly suited for mass production since the transport of the straws end to end, the corrugation of the joining tape, the rolling and gluing of the corrugated joints, as well as the cutting off, can all be combined in one machine.

Ordinary paper wound drinking straws, before being waxed, are fed end to end along a path, while the dies 16 and 17 roll out a corrugated strip 14 in a direction perpendicular to the path of the straws. Short portions of the corrugated strip 14 are wound around the ends of two straws lying end to end with a gap between the ends slightly larger than the width of the corrugation, and are glued to the straws. This operation creates a continuous chain of straws which is then recut about 1 /2 to 2 inches from an end of each corrugated segment. The straws thus produced are then waxed in a conventional manner.

While one embodiment has been described in detail, it is to be understood that changes and additions can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

I claim:

A drinking straw comprised of three connected tubular segments; the first end segment thereof composed of a relatively stiif, waxed tube of paper-wound construction between 1 /2 and 2 inches long; the intermediate segment thereof composed of a flexible, corrugated, waxed, paper banderole which extends from and is fitted over one end of the first end segment; means for making a liquid proof seal between said first end segment and said intermediate segment; the second end segment thereof composed of another relatively stifl, waxed tube of paper-wound construction which extends from and is fitted into the other end of the flexible intermediate segment; and means for making a liquid proof seal between said intermediate Segment and said second end segment.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 103,300 Chapin May 24, 1870 1,944,970 Dieflenbach Ian. 30, 1934 2,072,891 La Veek Mar. 9, 1937 2,094,268 Friedman Sept. 28, 1937 2,531,855 Loptson Nov. 28, 1950 2,550,797 Friedman May 1. 1951 

